Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned Sunday that Israel and Hamas are “very shortly anticipated to maneuver into the second part of the ceasefire,” after Hamas returns the stays of the final hostage held in Gaza.
Netanyahu spoke throughout a information convention with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and confused that the second part, which addresses the disarming of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, might start as quickly as the top of the month.
Hamas has but handy over the stays of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer who was killed within the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, assault that sparked the battle. His physique was taken to Gaza.
The ceasefire’s second stage additionally consists of the deployment of a global pressure to safe Gaza and forming a brief Palestinian authorities to run day-to-day affairs underneath the supervision of a global board led by U.S. President Donald Trump.
A senior Hamas official on Sunday advised The Related Press the group is able to focus on “freezing or storing or laying down” its weapons as a part of the ceasefire in a potential strategy to one of the vital troublesome points forward.
Netanyahu says second part will probably be difficult
Netanyahu mentioned few folks believed the ceasefire’s first stage might be achieved, and the second part is simply as difficult.
“As I discussed to the chancellor, there’s a 3rd part, and that’s to deradicalize Gaza, one thing that additionally folks believed was inconceivable. However it was executed in Germany, it was executed in Japan, it was executed within the Gulf States. It may be executed in Gaza, too, however in fact Hamas needs to be dismantled,” he mentioned.
The return of Gvili’s stays — and Israel’s return of 15 our bodies of Palestinians in trade — would full the primary part of Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan.
Hamas says it has not been capable of attain all stays as a result of they’re buried underneath rubble left by Israel’s two-year offensive in Gaza. Israel has accused the militants of stalling and threatened to renew army operations or withhold humanitarian support if all stays are usually not returned.
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A bunch of households of hostages mentioned in an announcement that “we can’t advance to the following part earlier than Ran Gvili returns house.”
In the meantime, Israeli army Chief of Employees Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Sunday known as the so-called Yellow Line that divides the Israeli-controlled majority of Gaza from the remainder of the territory a “new border.”
“Now we have operational management over in depth components of the Gaza Strip and we’ll stay on these protection strains,” Zamir mentioned. “The Yellow Line is a brand new border line, serving as a ahead line of defense for our communities and a line of operational exercise.”
Germany says help for Israel is unchanged
Merz mentioned Germany, certainly one of Israel’s closest allies, is helping with the implementation of the second part by sending officers and diplomats to a U.S.-led civilian and army coordination middle in southern Israel, and by sending humanitarian support to Gaza.
The chancellor additionally mentioned Germany nonetheless believes {that a} two-state-solution is the very best possibility however that “the German federal authorities stays of the opinion that recognition of a Palestinian state can solely come on the finish of such a course of, not firstly.”
The U.S.-drafted plan for Gaza leaves the door open to Palestinian independence. Netanyahu has lengthy asserted that making a Palestinian state would reward Hamas and finally result in a fair bigger Hamas-run state on Israel’s borders.
Netanyahu additionally mentioned that whereas he want to go to Germany, he hasn’t deliberate a diplomatic journey as a result of he’s involved about an arrest warrant issued by the Worldwide Felony Court docket, the U.N.’s high conflict crimes courtroom, final 12 months in reference to the battle in Gaza.
Merz mentioned there are at present no plans for a go to however he could invite Netanyahu sooner or later. He added that he’s not conscious of future sanctions towards Israel from the European Union nor any plans to resume German bans on army exports to Israel.
Germany had a brief ban on exporting army gear to Israel, which was lifted after the ceasefire started on Oct. 10.
Israel kills militant in Gaza
The Israeli army mentioned it killed a militant who approached its troops throughout the Yellow Line.
Gaza’s Well being Ministry says Israeli forces have killed greater than 370 Palestinians for the reason that begin of the ceasefire, and that the our bodies of six folks killed in assaults had been dropped at native hospitals over the previous 24 hours.
Within the authentic Hamas-led assault in 2023, the militants killed round 1,200 folks and took greater than 250 others hostage. Nearly all of the hostages or their stays have been returned in ceasefires or different offers.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed at the least 70,360 Palestinians, in response to Gaza’s Well being Ministry, which operates underneath the Hamas-run authorities. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, however says that just about half the lifeless have been ladies and kids. The ministry is a part of Gaza’s Hamas authorities and its numbers are thought-about dependable by the U.N. and different worldwide our bodies.
—Grieshaber reported from Berlin.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
